


To The King

by strainedpatience



Series: To The King [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drinking, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Physical Abuse, Slavery, royalstuck, slavestuck, will update in the future as necessary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-17
Updated: 2014-12-18
Packaged: 2018-03-01 21:52:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2789024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strainedpatience/pseuds/strainedpatience
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Slavestuck/Royalstuck AU<br/>In an alternate universe, the population on earth has reformed and come under two separate kings.  Half of the planet has been claimed and controlled by man, the other half by troll.  Both have agreed upon peace and have yet to break that pact.<br/>John Egbert is a human who was kidnapped in his weakest moment and sold into slavery.  He spends only a month in the auction before he is bought by the most powerful human being on the planet.  King David has acquired slaves before, but never one like this.  Never one that has fought back.  Will John break under the young king's rule, or will he continue to challenge whatever is in his path.  And what happens when the truce of peace is broken and a war breaks forth?  Everyone has choices to make, no matter how big or small.  And sometimes, the wrong choice to a small problem can make a big difference.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. His eyes were red

**Author's Note:**

> For future reference, the Titles of present/future characters.  
> Dave Strider- King  
> Eridan Ampora - King  
> Dirk Strider - Royal  
> Gamzee Makara - Royal  
> Rose Lalonde - Witch  
> Kanaya Maryam - Standard  
> Karkat Vantas - Slave  
> John Egbert - Slave  
> Jake English - Slave  
> (Will update as necessary)

His eyes were an auburn red that drew you in and captivated your mind, stole away your sanity, and drained your will to rebel. He stared hard at me, his stern gaze unfaltering, and for a moment I felt calm. For a breif moment I stopped struggling, I hushed every voice in my head that told me to keep fighting, to test the chains around my ankles and wrists. For a single moment I was quiet. But his lips curled into a smirk, and a new fire was set ablaze inside me. I growled, it was all I could do without the blunt side of a guard's sword being jabbed into my stomach to remind me of my place. Again. I wanted to waltz right up those steps to his throne and slap that stupid shit eating grin off his face. But he was a king, newly crowned or not, and to oppose him would be to request immediate death.

"This one has quite the temper on him. He hasn't been broken yet. I see." His voice was near apathetic. It was the very first time I heard him speak since I first set eyes on him, since that day almost a month ago when he passed by the auction. It's different from what I thought it would be-- smooth, kind of deep, not at all like mine. It had an accent to it, but I couldn't place it for the life of me. My lips parted as I begun to mutter, though talking is strictly forbidden of a slave. It didn't matter, he beat me to the punch. "Bring him to me." 

I squirmed. There was no way in hell that I would take a single step closer to this man. And yet here I was, being dragged by one guard on each side of me by the arms, and a third one just behind me in case I make a run for it again. I'm thrown up the stairs, stumbling until my face is two inches from his. He tilts his head to the side and with a lone hand he pats his lap. "You expect me to sit? There's no freaking way I--" there's a sword at my throat immediately, held by the third guard I suppose, if not one of the other two. I swallow hard and close my eyes. Slavery or death, which would be easier to suffer through? It must have been only ten seconds of the blade's edge cutting slightly into my neck before it is pulled away. I let out the breath I was holding. Why was I released? I have to force my eyes open again. My body is shaking. King David has a hand raised. He...he ordered the guard to cease? To spare me though I broke god knows how many rules? I watch him carefully as the hand is lowered. He frowns at me, looks disappointed for some unknown reason. More than anything else, he looks...hurt. 

"Send him to my chambers. He is to be bathed, fitted and fed before I turn in for the night. If any of you should touch him behind that I will feed you to the crows. Do I make myself clear?" The three of his iron-head servants give a _'As you wish, King David'_ in unison. The chain locked and secured to my collar is taken once more and I am tugged in the opposite direction of him, though the measure is much less violent this time. My eyes don't leave his until the grand doors are shut and I can see him no more. 

My name is Johnathan Egbert, and I was just made a slave to the king of Skaia.


	2. A rose among thorns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John officially meets Dave on a more personal level. The king reassures him that he means no harm, but John is having none of it. After all, once you've spent a month in the slave trade being treated as garbage, it's hard to accept that you are now someone's protected treasure.

The king's chambers are quite large. Larger than I excited. The walls are a beige color while the floors are made of polished wood. The furniture has linings of pure gold ingrained in intricate patterns. The bed could fit five people comfortably, and has a beautiful silk canopy overhead. There is a large writing desk present as well, and a door which I presume leads to a private bathroom, and a balcony with a view from the ninth floor.

  
-I am so in awe of the room that I hardly notice my chain being locked in place to a cold iron ring on the wall, built specially to hold slave's. I don't notice when the guard's leave me here, alone. I am ignorant to everything aside the fact that I was just purchased by the most powerful man in the world. Okay, one of the most powerful men in the world. Tying only with King Eridan, but seeing as I am human and not troll, and have no reason to bother myself in troll matters, I suppose Dave being the most powerful is still true in its own way.

  
-I don't know how many hours I wait for. The chain locked to my collar is long enough that I can lean against the wall and sit cross-legged on the floor, and so I do. And it becomes dark outside and my stomach rumbles and I start to get restless. My mind races with a million questions but none of them can be answered because after an eternity of waiting, the grand door opens. The King steps through. He mumbles something to a guard outside the door before closing it and leaning against the hard wood with a heavy, drained sigh. He looks exhausted. Vulnerable, even. Not at all how he was when I was first brought to him. But I suppose we're all a different person when no one is watching us.  
"Those chains must be uncomfortable. Here, let me help." His voice startles me out of my daze. He is suddenly there, before me, a key in his hand. The shackles around my wrists and ankles drop to the floor with a loud clatter. He reaches up a third time and finally unlocks the chain leash from my collar, stuffing the small padlock in his pocket. "You will sleep in here tonight, in my bed. I won't touch you, if that means anything. You obviously aren't comfortable with the current situation. I wouldn't be either, to be honest. Are you--" I lose track of his words, get lost in his eyes instead. He's crouching, and therefore at my eye-level. It is only now that I can see four years of stress, as king of half the world, practically sucking the life out of him. There are bags under his eyes and his lips are chapped and dry. He looks as though he may fall over at any given moment, but the grace that he carries himself with creates a wonderful cover up. Seen by every human on the planet as the wise, courageous, perfect king. Seen by one slave alone as the young man he truly is. In his early twenties, I'm sure. No more than twenty-two if I had to take a guess. He was crowned at eighteen though. He wasn't able to fully understand adulthood before he was given castle and a crown, and half the world was put in his hands. I am wholeheartidly convinced that he died of stress some years ago and the person here with me is a ghost. A ghost I can physically touch and talk to. A ghost asking me a question. Wait, asking me a question? "Are you deaf or something? I'm aware slaves arent to speak unless spoken to first, but I think I've done quite enough speaking here for you to at least grace me with a one word response."

  
-Oh, shit. Was he talking the whole time? "S-Sorry, Master David. I'm not very well off at staying on track. I forget myself sometimes." My voice is humble, because I hate that I'm a slave, I hate that I'm imprisoned here, but this man has shown me nothing but kindness since he stepped through the door and who am I to give him the opposite.  
-"Just sir, is fine. I might let you call me Dave if you manage to warm up to me in the future." He stands and crosses the room, and begins to pull off his heavy robes, throwing the lengthy cape onto the bed and placing his crown in a locked glass box. He begins to pull the next items of clothing off just as he starts to question me again. The man wears so much royal clothing--velvet this and silk that and bejeweled everything else-that I don't know how he can stand the heat of it all. Must be why it is kept so cold in this castle. Must be why I'm shivering. "I would certainly hope my slave could focus enough to perform his duties. I haven no room for a useless servant." His words make me boil inside. I open my mouth to argue back, but snap it shut before a word is uttered. It's for the best I simply nod and obey. "You won't have many responsibilities here. I'm not entirely sure what I bought you for, if I'm to be completely honest here. I don't see you as a house maid, or a guard or a note-taker. The man who ran the auction told me you had spent that month after our parting being nothing more than a lap warmer. I have my doubts that you may have been used as something more, though. From how you reacted to my invitation a tonight."

  
-The anger inside me cools itself for just a moment. I consider his words, rolling them over in my head. He remembered our first meeting? It was only a glance. Red eyes met blue in a split second of passing by. After that, I didn't see him for a straight month. I didn't think he remembered me. "Actually, Mas--" I clear my throat and correct myself, "S-Sir, I am...still completely virgin." My face is comparable to a strawberry in summer. I look away, to the floor, and chew on my bottom lip. He doesn't seem to believe me, so I remind him "--because I...I'd sell for more, that way." He looks like he understands then.

  
-"That would explain your actions earlier tonight more clearly, then. For the record...Y'know, I never was given your name. Quite rude of me not to ask. What was it again?" He has changed into night clothes now, looking just as royal as before but more like a teenage boy now than a great king.

  
-"Johnathan, Sir. John Egbert." I manage to push myself onto my feet now as well and rub at my sore wrists. It has just now come to my attention that, even with all the rebellious remarks and struggling he saw of me before, I was given the privileged to be let off my chains. I'm not sure whether to be grateful, or suspicious.

  
-"John... Good name, I like it. Now where was I... right, for the record, John, I never intended to do anything more than have you sit on my lap. Not even that, really. I expected you to decline, though I cannot lie and say that the action did not hurt all the same. It was a test more than anything. I suppose I have my answer-- Are you cold?" He cuts himself off mid-sentence, his eyebrow bends in question as he watches me. "You're shivering quite violently. Of course, with nothing but that attire--" a ragged tank top and shorts, if you're wondering "--I could guess that you would be everything but warm. And you have spent the last three hours in here with nothing to bundle in. You could catch a cold and it would be my fault entirely." It is so, so very difficult to hear if his concern is genuine or not. But either way he stands to his feet and takes a heavy blanket twice my size and hands it to me. "I'll see about fitting you for new clothing in the morning. Kanaya is quite the seamstress, I'm sure she will come up with something wonderful that will keep you warm, too."

  
-"Th...Thank you...sir?" I wrap the blanket around my shoulders and cocoon myself in it the best I can. I have absolutely no idea how to respond to his kindness, real or fake, anymore. When I was told that a man had purchased me, I thought I was going to be slammed into some random dude's house and used as nothing but a fuck-toy before the night was over. But then, it wasn't a random dude. It was the fucking king of Skaia. And then I wasn't used or abused or treated as an item to be thrown away. And I suppose, if nothing else, all of this has simply thrown me for a loop. "If you don't mind my asking, sir..." He looks up at me-- or down, I suppose, as he's a good three or so inches taller than me, "why have I been allowed off my chain? I don't see how I could possible have earned your trust that quickly. And while I'm not complaining, I do only wish to know the reason behind your actions. Aren't you worried I might try to escape?"

  
-He watches me quietly for what seems like forever. Then suddenly the man breaks into a smile, and then he laughs. He laughs at me. "Escape to where? And how? John, my boy, have you not noticed we are on the ninth floor? Try as you might but the only escape waiting for you off of that balcony is the fleeing abyss of death. And through the bedroom door would be suicide at best. I'm not in any way trying to turn this into a prison for you, but you should be aware that escape, at this point, is quite impossible." He sits on his bed and pats the spot beside him, "Though, in time, you will learn that escape isn't your best option anyway."

  
-I frown. The boil starts up again. He takes me for a fool. And now he wants me to sleep with him. I know what he said, I know he promised he wouldn't, I know he swore we would only sleep, but... "With all due respect, your highness... fuck off." I plant myself back on my ass on the floor, take the harsh metal leash, and clip it back onto my collar by my own free will. My arms cross over my chest and I give him a huff and a pointed look. I expect to be punished right away. I told off my Master--not only that, but the most powerful man in the world, the very worst person to tick off. I try to hold up my stance of being fearless, but after five full minutes of silence, to the point where I'm drowning in it, my determination is faltering. I squeeze my eyes shut, bracing myself for whatever may come. I hear him stand again and my breathing practically stops. I hear shuffling, I tuck my knees close into my chest and give the smallest of whimpers. Then all of a sudden there is something smooth and soft placed beside me.  
"Alright." I open my eyes at his word. That one single, calm, not at all angry word. There's a pillow to my right now, and an extra blanket on top of it. I stare up at him with a world of confusion in my eyes. My mouth gapes open, I'm completely speechless. What kind of man, exactly, have I gotten myself tangled up with. "Sleep well, John." He pats my head, turns around and crawls back into his bed. He claps his hands twice, and the lights flicker off.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter the author's love of height differences is found out.  
> Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....


End file.
